mr. chairman , i rise today in strong support of h.r. 418 , the real id act .  as a member of the congressional immigration reform caucus , i join with my colleagues to raise attention to the serious flaws in our immigration system which leave our nation exposed to potential threats .  the 9/11 commission made several recommendations which were not enacted as part of the national intelligence reform act of 2004 ( public law 108-458 ) , including provisions to strengthen identification document standards and to secure our borders .  the commission specifically recommended that the federal government should set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification such as driver 's licenses .  in addition , the commission recommended the department of homeland security 's , dhs , completion of a biometric entry-exit screening system and the improvement of u.s. border security standards for travel and border crossing .  i was disappointed that the conference committee on the intelligence reform bill opted to remove the immigration-related provisions approved by the house during its consideration of h.r. 10 last fall .  i commend house leadership for honoring the commitment made to chairman sensenbrenner to allow the consideration of the bill we have before us today .  we have a real opportunity to adopt meaningful reforms to improve our immigration system .  h.r. 418 establishes strict proof of identity for all applicants for state-issued driver 's licenses and identification documents .  this bill serves to protect the integrity of our immigration laws by requiring states , in effect , to confirm lawful immigration status or disclose the lack of confirming identification on the face of cards issued .  h.r. 418 also makes aliens deportable for terrorism-related offenses to the same extent that they would be inadmissible for the same grounds .  if nothing else , our immigration system must prevent potential terrorists from entering the united states .  we would not be exercising our responsibility to protect national security if we were to allow our immigration system to be exploited by those malevolent individuals who seek to destroy americans and our way of life .  mr. chairman , there are many flaws in our immigration system which need to be fixed .  h.r. 418 does not address them all , but it does represent a good step forward in discouraging lawbreaking by those who would choose to exploit our welcoming nature .  as a cosponsor of the real id act , i urge my colleagues to improve our nation 's security and strengthen our immigration laws by voting for h.r. 418 .  